Window washing machine



April 14, 1953 J. PUMA WINDOW WASHING MACHINE 2 SHEETS-SHEET 1 Filed July 9, 1948 INVENTOR.

JohnPama 4 Patented Apr. 14, 1953 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE This invention relates to window cleaning machines and has particular relation to that type of machine wherein the window may be cleaned on the outside surface while the operative manipulates the machine entirely from within the building.

In the washing of the outside surfaces of windows, the great problem is to provide safety for the operative while insuring the proper cleansing and drying of the window surface.

' The primary object of this invention is the provision of an improved window washing machine.

Another object of the invention is the provision of an improved window washing machine wherein means are provided for giving a window cleaning element on the outside of a window, either lateral or vertical movement or both, over the surface of the window glass, while the operative remains inside the window.

Still another object of the invention is the provision of an improved window washing machine wherein a horizontal movement to a window cleaning element may be given by sliding a carriage which carries the element, in a horizontal direction.

A further object of the invention is the provision of an improved window washing machine wherein a window cleaning element can be moved by the operative from inside the window 1) erated from inside the window by a continuous cable moved by a crank or wheel.

Another and still further object of the invention is the provision of an improved window washing machine wherein with the cleaning element in contact with the window, a spray of cleaning liquid may be applied to the surface to be cleaned while the cleaning element is moved horizontally, vertically, or in any direction in the plane of the surface to be cleaned, all of which is controlled by the operative from within the building.

Another and still further object of the invention is the provision of an improved window washing machine wherein mechanism is provided for moving the cleaning element in a direction normal to the Window surface and under control of the operative entirely from within the building.

Another and still further object of the invention is the provision of a window washing ma- 2 Claims. (Cl. 15-2504) chine wherein from a place entirely within the building, the cleaning element of the machine may be moved from side to side or from top to bottom and to and away from the surface to be cleaned at the will of the operative.

Other and further objects of the invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art from a reading of the complete specification.

Referring to the drawing wherein is illustrated an embodiment of the invention,

Fig. 1 is a side view of the invention showing the sash of the window being cleaned.

Fig. 2 is a top plan view, but with the spraying device removed.

Fig. 3 is a front view-looking toward the window cleaning element-from the control devices on line 3-3 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is a sectional view of the cleaning liquid control valve.

Fig. 5 is a sectional view of the wiper-positioning locking hub.

Fig. 6 is an enlarged view of the cleaning device shown partly in section.

Fig. 7 is a cross section on the line '|--I of Fig. 6.

Similar reference characters refer to the same or similar parts throughout the specification and drawing.

Referring particularly to Figs. 1 and 2, the reference character [0 designates the glass of the window to be cleaned and H its sash which can be raised and lowered to open or close the window in the well, known manner. The sash slides in the frame [2, a portion of the sides of which are indicated in Fig. 2. j

Secured to the sides of the window frame l2 are a pair of brackets I3, which are held in place on the frame by the screws [3a. In the form of bracket shown, a slot of triangular cross section is provided to receive the detachable supporting arms M, Ma. The brackets 13 are attached to the window frame at the same height so that the supporting arms [4, Ma will extend inwardly at the same height. I

Secured to one of the two supporting arms, as 14, is a pair of rails l5. These rails are supported in a horizontal plane and are individually in parallel vertical planes which are parallel to the surface to be cleaned. The other arm la is provided with a pair of .short tubular members I4b which slidably receive the ends of the rails l5.

Slidable on the rails I5 is a carriage which carries the active portion of the cleaning machine, which will now be described.

The rails 15 in the illustrated embodiment are cylindrical in form. A pair of sliding sleeve members l6 are provided as the supporting members of the carriage and have interior cross sections slightly larger than the exterior cross sections of the rails [5. The sliding sleeve members l6 surround the rails l5 and may be. moved to any place along the length of the rails in accordance with the position it is desired that the cleaning" devices shall? occupy: It: is to be; un derstood" that the carriage may be moved freely horizontally along the rails l5 and that there is no securing means necessary or desirable to hold" it in any adjusted position.

Welded or otherwise secured to the sliding members I6 is a connecting portion [6a. Weldedto the cylindrical members 16;.respectively. aretwo axially aligned tubular members ll. These tubular members I! carry an adjustabietubular member [8 which supports the cleaner element aswill' be later described:. Orr the: side: of: the tubular member 18. and. secured along; its :length is a-rackmember. lBa. To;the:sides of the tubular members 111' are secured: members; Ha of sub.- stantially rectangular cross section which are provided.- with slots which; open into: the interior space. within the-tubular. members I! and provid for the reception andsliding. off the tubular member l8 and its rack" 8a, already'described;

Secured to the connecting portion 5a. is a bracket lib in whichis vertically pivotedza shaft i9 having a handle member lQa. Atzthe, lower end of the shaft I9 is a pinion 29 which is' in mesh with the rack member l8a.. It will be observed that since the. shaft member I9 is rotatable in thecarriage bracket member [5b, any rotation of the shaft l9 will; cause a. movement of the tube 58 outwardly or inwardly, depending upon which way the shaft 19 is rotated. The purpose ofthis movement willlater become; apparent. It will thus be clear thatthe; carriage which comprises the-parts. H3, lfia, Nib, ll. and Fla, with the parts'which. it carries... may be moved-acrossthe front. of. thelwindow by sliding the carriage as a whole along the rails and-by means. of the. handle Wu and its. coactin parts, the tube i8:- may be moved. in a. direction. at a right angle to the rails l5.

As already stated, the operator of this window cleaning machine. operates the machine. entirely fromtheinside; the actualcleaning device being on. the outsideof. the-window. The. tube [.8 has asliding tube 21. therein which. is. secured atits inner end. within. theend of an. operating wheel yoke 22 by a rivet pin 23.. Surroundingthe. tube 2i andin positionto. exert an end thrust on the adjacent. ends of the tube l8 and the yoke 22 is a spring 24. Thisspring, normally tends. to hold the. yoke 22 in a rearward position fora purpose to belater made clear.

Pivotally mounted between the arms of the yoke member 22 is an operating wheel 25, The operating wheel 25 is'fixedly mounted on a crank axl'e26 which is pivoted on the'arms of the yoke member 22. At one end of. the crank axle 26 is a crank 26a which. is usedby the operative to rotate.v the wheel 25. Passing around thewheel 25" in a, peripheral groovejisi an operatingv cable 2.2; This cable is secured to the wheel 25 by means of the spring 29 in such;a manner that when the wheel is'turned, the cable will be under. greatertensiorr on one fall and less tension. on the other. The purpose of the operating cable will be later made. clear. The two falls of the cable ass through suitable openings. in.the.yoke

4 22 and through the tube 2! which extends throughout the length of the tube H8.

The outer end of the tube l8, which is the end which leads to the outside of the window, is provided with a registry joint out 1811. A curved tubular member 28 of a cross section which is the same as the tube I8 is provided with a similar but complementary joint cut 28a. Secured to the adjacent end of the tubular member 28 and within its interior:is:the outer endzofltheasmaller tubular member 21* already described. This outer end of the smaller tubular member 2| may be secured within the end of the curved tubular member. 28- by a suitable means as the rivet 30. It is thus clear that the tubular member 2| will slide within the tubular member It for a distance. suiiicient to allow for the compression of the spring 25'. With the spring 24 so compressed, theeregistry cuts 28a and lb will permit one to be turned relative to the other and the tubular member. 28.. canbe. moved to. aplane; parallel with the. tubular members. [5, for storing away. It will. thus. be.- observed. that. when. the. tubular members. I-B-and 26. are. in the. relative positions illustratedin Fig, 1, the. tubes [,8 and 2.8;are..p r.e.-- vented from relative rotative movement bythe joint formed by, theends lab and22ia. The yoke member 22, during the compression of.the.spring 2A., maintains its positionrelative to. the tubular member 28 sincebothare-rigidwiththe tubeZ'i'.

The outer. end of. the. curved tubular member 28.extends. upwardly on. the outsideof the. win: dow when in operative position and is provided with aslot. 28b-preferably on its, inner side toward. the. window. Slidably mounted. on. and surrounding the outside. of the slottedportion of the. tubular. member 28. isa relatively short tubular carrying. sleeve. 31. which. carries the clean: ing. element. whichwill now. be describedi The cable 21' which has. already been. men:- tioned, passes. through. the. tubular members 21 and 28,.passing through. a. loopedtube 32 which is located at the top ofthecurved'tubular member 28 The length of the. cable is. such. that when all of the parts are in.place,there will be a continuous tension in the cable 21', due. to. the spring 2.9,v and. due to the. tension of: the. spring 24; the joint. formed by theends IBb andlfilrwill be tight, these ends being held together. by the tension inthespring 24 which normally tends toforce the adjacent endsof the yoke 22 and the tubular member. 18 apart.

Fixedly. secured. to they carrying sleeve. 31l., in.- termecliate its 1ength,,andattached. to the cable 21' and having a portion passin through the slot 281), is a supporting member 33., Which While free to. have a limitedmovementalong the cable 21 is resiliently held in place by thev springs 34. These springs" 34 are held in place, at their opposite outer ends; by collar stop members; 36; The supporting member 33 extends through the slot'28b and carries a hub 35 which is'rotatively adjustabl on the outer cylindrical surface of the supporting member 33; The supporting member 33 is provided with two' s1ots733a, 3311'. which provide for-the adjustment: Mountedin: the hub 35 is the. detent member 35a, theinner end of which is small enough to entereither one'ofthe'slots. 33a; 33b to hold th hub 35 and supporting member 33 from havin relative r0- tary movement whenin either one" of' the adjusted positions. A spring 35 has a tendency to force the detent' member 35a into registry with the slot 33a or 3317 to prevent accidental displacement.

The outer en'dof the detentmember a ispro- 'vided with a head member 35b. A closure plu 31,- through which-the outer end of the detent member passes, is soldered or otherwise secured in the end 'of the opening 350 which encloses the spring 36. It will thus be clear by grasping the head 3512 that the detent member 35a can be lifted from the slot 331) or 330. and shifted to the other slot and also that when the finger of the operative releases the head 35b, the spring 36 will force the detent 35a into the slot 331.1. or 332). By this means the hub can be adjusted at either of two positions, the purpose of which will be presently made clear. A spring 38 is interposed. between the sides of the carrying member 3| and the hub 35 and surrounds the supporting member 33. This Spring normally tends to force the hub outwardly. j Secured to the hub 35 is a supporting sprin 39 which is rigidly connected to the hub 35i order that the Wiper head 40 which it carries at its other end can have a resilient mounting. Carried by-the wiper head is the window wiper 4| 'which'acts to cl'ean the window glass it. The wiper head 4|! is provided with a chamber 40a which is connected to the interior 48b of the hollow bar of the wiper 4|'. Near the tol of the bar of the wiper and also near but somewhat-above the bottom are two spray openings Ma. These spray openings deliver spray to the window glass surface as at Ill. Connected to the interior at the head 45' is the tube 42 which is, in turn, connected to the hand-controlled valve 43. This hand controlled valve 43 receives its spray supply from a tube 44 which is connected to the-source of supply which will now be described.

The fluid supply which may be water or other cleaning fluid, may be from any suitable closed tank or container. In the present embodiment, there is shown a standard gallon container 45 which may have a head 46 having a screw cap 46a and an air supply connection 4% attached thereto. The air sup-ply connection opens through the cap 46a to apply a pressure to the top of the fluid within the standard gallon container 45.

The head 46 is provided with a connector 460 at its top, and at its bottom the head is connected to a pipe or conduit 46d which extends to the bottom of the gallon container 45. The tube or conduit 44, already described is connected to the connector 430 for transmission of the spray liquid to the wiper arm 4| as already described.

To provide air pressure at the top of the liquid, any suitable means, as the hand air pump 41, is connected to the air supply connection 461). Such hand pumps are in general use for inflating the tires of automobiles and bicycles.

The operation of the whole construction will now be described. As the window cleaning machine is stored, the horizontal rails l5 are in substantially the same plane as the tubular member 28 and the wheel 25. This is mad possible by the non-registration of the ends I81) and 23% formin the joint between the tubular members I8 and 28. As the rail members l5 are swun to a horizontal position with the tubular member 28 in a vertical position, the joint ends I81 and 28a will reach a point wher the two complementary registry cut ends will st When this takes place, the spring 2| forces the tubular member l8 and the yoke member 22 6 apart, thus holding the members of the registry joint in place.

With the parts in this relation, th supporting members I4, I41: are placed in position in the brackets l3 when the tubular member 28 is outside of the partially raised windo sash. In using the window cleaning machine on windows of different widths, it will be clear that the different distances between brackets l3 ofdifferent windows will be taken care of by the sliding feature of the bracket 4a along the rails 15 already described.

With the cable 21 held taut by the spring 29 as just described, any turning of th wheel 25 by the handle 26a will place a greater tension in one. fall of the cable 2'! and lessen the tension in the other. Since the continuous cable 21 is resiliently attached to the supportin mem ber 33 and since the latter extends through the slot 2%, it follows that any turning of the wheel 25 will result in a-raising or lowering of the supporting member 33 and the wiper 4|'. If slackness tends to occur inthe cable 21, this slackness will be at once taken up by the spring 29.

If the wiper is in a vertical position and it is.

desired-to have it in a horizontal position, it is only necessary to turn the wheel 25 to lower the wiper 4| and by means of the head 35?), release the hub 35 and turn the wiper to the desired position. When the head is released, the end of the detent 35a will-engage the slot 33a or 331) and the wiper 41 will be held in the new position.

Since, as already pointed out, the whole carriage and the active parts carried thereby may be moved along the rails i5, it follows that any desired lateral or horizontal movement may be given by moving the whole carriage along the rails I5. And since any desired vertical movement may be given by turning the wheel 25, it follows that any combination of the two movements may be given by sliding the carriage and turning the wheel 25 at the same time.

During the movement of the wiper 4| over the surface of the glass Iii, the springs 34, 38 and 39 take up any irregularities in the movement. Movement of the cleaning element toward or from the window is accomplished by turning the shaft l9 by its handle i9a.

When everything is ready for the cleaning operation, and the connections to the fluid supply are made as already described, the operative operates the pump 41 a few strokes to place the cleaning fluid under pressure and the spray is released, at the will of the operative, by pressing on the finger piece 43a to send the spray fluid to the openings Me. By operating the spray mechanism and moving the carriage and the wheel 25, the whole surface of the window glass ill may be covered with the cleaning fluid. By working the wiper 4| over the wet surface, the dirt may be loosened and then the fluid supply may be shut off. After this is done, the carriage and wheel 25 may be moved to cover the surface with wiper 4| paths which will clear the surface of the moisture and leave the surface clean and dry. The wiper 4| may be removed from contact with the window at the end of a path by turning of the shaft I9.

In storing the window cleaning machine, it is necessary only to compress the spring 2| and simultaneously swing the tubular member 28 relatively to the rails |5 until they are in substantially the same plane. The compression of the spring 2| is necessary to separate the adjacent ends lab, 28a of the tubular members l8 emcee and? ze-unm. the parts; of the Joint-demoninte11- fere with each other in the relativeetumingb In; theclaimathe-term.tubular; member iszused to designate theiubularmembers: 18,721,428- and 32. orssucnnumberyof them asimay be apglicable; astused;

While anembodimentoflthe invention has;been;

shown; and described in detail, it.i,s,.to:be-un.de1t-- stood". that-the:disclosureis,merelyillustrative and.

that modificationsand changes may: be; made:

without. departing: from, the: spirit; of the invenetion and within its scope as claimed.

Havmg'described-my invention, what is: claimed is 13 A" window washing machine comprising sup.-

porting means-entirely inside-the window, meansfor--attaching-the supporting means-to the insideof a' building, horizontal guide means carried by the supporting means and extending across the inside of the window, a carriage-means movably mounted onthe horizontal means, a window cleaning 'devicein position to be outside the -win-- dow to be-cleaned and including-a wiper-head; a sectionally foldable tubularmeans connecting the cleaningdevicewith the-carriage, a cable means within thetubu'lar means and connected to the cleaning device to move the same vertically, a wheel for operating thecable and in position to be' operated from inside the window, a rack and pinion connection between the carriage and the tubular means for moving the cleaningd'evice in a direction normal to the window and a sliding connection between the-carriage means and the horizontal means.

2; A carryingmeans for-a window-washing device comprising supportingmeans entirely inside the window, means for detachahl'y attaching'the sup orting. means-,zto; abuildinghorizontal-means connectedto the supporting meanss andiextendineacross, the window sgacea a carriage; slidablx mounted on the horizontal. means, a tubular. member supported; by and. extending from. the: carriage, asecond tubularmember having. along; right, angular bend. and. an: upright; portion exetending outside the window, the. first-named till. bularmember having a registry joint: between one of. its ends anda coactingpart of thesecond tubularvmem-beiz' so that, when, the. windowwash: ing machine, is removed from. the; Window for, storage; the-upright, portionmay be firstswung; to a position substantially in. a plane-with; the horizontal means, a, cable'means in. the-secondnamed tubular. member and having a means at the upper endof the second-named tubular: mem..- berfonholding a loopof the-cable, acable-wheeland-holding member at the'other. end-ofthe-secondirnamed tubular? member, the second-named tubular memberahaving asliding connection-with. the first-named tubularmember and, a. spring; tending to. hold, the coacting parts, oi the; joint together to prevent: relative: turning of the; two; tubular members. during operationof the-window washing machine.-

JOHN PUMA.

References Cited in. thefile. oi this..- patent? UNITED; STATES PATENTS",

Number Name Date:

624,843 Mitchell May 9,189.9 744,013 Lawlor Nov. 10', 1903.

1,416,280? Gazdzicki, l May 16,1922 1,465,237 Hunter Aug, 14; 1923, 1,714,810 Patraszewskii May28; 1929 

